Boll-cotton gin.



J. F. HOPPER. BOLL COTTON GIN. APPLICATION FILED 173.21, 1914.

1,099,299. Patented June 9, 1914.

JAMES F. HOPPER, OF SHERMAN, TEXAS.

BOLD-COTTON GIN.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1914.

Application filed February 21, 1914. Serial No. 820.286.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it. l mown that I James F. llorrnu, a citizen of the T niterl States, residing at Sherman, in the county of (irayson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boll'Cotton Gins, of which the following is a specification.

This ii'n'ention relates to a new and useful hell-cotton gin, and is designed particularly to improve the types of machines heretofore invented that emhody complhaited features for first crushing the bolls. then separating the seed and lint cotton therefrom.

When the weather in the fall reaches a freezing point, there is. as a general. thing ast quantities otcotton in matured condition in partially opened bolls on the stalks, which at this time of the year lose iieir opening power on account of becoming frozen, and the cotton cannot he picked from them by hand, hut may he gathered in the bolls, and with my device, without crushing or intcriuingling the hulls and other impurities therewith the lint may he extracted, producing a san'iple but little interior to that of hand picked cotton.

A principal object of my invention is the tllll'NKlllnCnt of an apparatus with means for first separating the seed cotton from the holls and hulls without disintegrating them, rendering the cotton thus ii xtracted in condition to be ginncd.

To this end the invention comprises a pair of saw cylinders mounted in the machine and located one above the other. the Former o'l single rib, and the latter of the douhle rih type: said cyliinlcrs being normally positioncd so that the bolls or hulls, alitcr a largev percentage of the seed cotton has been removed therefrom by the top cylinder, are dropped to the lower saw cylinder where the rcmainim;- seed cotton in the holls is linally removed, passing: it thence to the sec-- ondary rihs ol this cylinder that completes he ginning process by separating the lint from the seeds, in order tor such machines to worl satislactorily it is first necessary hat the tel-d ot' the cotton into and llllt llgl'll in ill should he controlled, enabling the cotso ied to he acted upon in, regulated amounts pa d l st to the upper and thence to the lower on a; cylinder, to he acted upon by the savor-1' ".lo this cnd\i1 is essential that the feeding nierlmnnan cluhpristautomatic means for i (ti such feeding. which is an object of my invention.

In the drawing there is disclosed a certain structure of apparatus, hut in practicalfields this structure may necessitate alterations; to which the patentee is entitled, provided the alterations are comprehended within the scope of what is claimed.

The invention comprises further features and combinations, as hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawing and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, the view is a cross section of a machine constructed accordin c to my invention, a small portion thereof being shown in elevation for better illustration.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the frame or casingof the machine, which is preferably of the shape shown in the drawing. Sui-mounting this casing is an ordinary cotton :t'ceder comprising a pair of transverse feed rolls 3 shown in dotted lines mounted on shafts l and revolving toward each other; one of said shafts carrying the usual ratchet, li'ecd wheel 5 that will he referred to hereafter. The boll cotton is regularly fed by these rollers to a'chamher ti, where a roll of them is formed to he acted upon by the usual single rih saw cylinder 7 that removes a great portion of the cotton from them. Between the saws of this cylinder and the rihs 8 there is sullicient space however to permit the seeds in the cotton to pass with the lint without being separated tliercl'ronn hut close enough to prevent the passage of all nnhroken cotton hulls. This operation continues lor n'mleteru'lined in" tervals. the seed cotton as extracted from the bolls passing through the vertical trans verse tuhe th- --the increasing amount of partially clcnncd hulls accumulating, in the chamber during this time, until one of a series of pins 10 in the feed wheel 5, engages the latch ll secured to the breast 12, that is hinged at 13, opening); the breast and dr0p ping the :u-cumulation of partly cleaned hulls to a lower chamber 14. where they are again acted upon in a similar manner by the double rihhed saw cylinder 15. Between the saws of this cylinder and the ribs 16 there is also space for the seeds to pass with the lint but not for the passage of the hulls, they being retained in the chamber 14, and there acted upon by the saws until all the cotton is removed, when, at regular intervals the breast 17, hinged at 18, is opened by one ot a series of pins 19 in the ratchet wheel 5,

" contacting the upper end of the bar 20,

which is connected to a knuckle 21-, so post 'tioned that a lateral movement of the bar by the pin Causes the bar to descend; when the lever' 22, pivoted to the bar, and secured to. if thefbreast, causes the breast to open, drp-' ping .theempty hulls from the chamber," While the downward travel of the bar causes it toescape from the pin, when the breast is again closed by the weight 23 andthe op er'ation repeated.- It will be noted that We now have a Continuous supply of seed'cot-ton passing through the tube 9, and through the series of ribs 16, to the roll box 24, to be acted upon bythe saw cylinder 15, and ribs 25 that are close enough to the saws to permit' only the passage of lint in the usual manner. the seed passing down through the satisfactory work,

" in any way disintegrating the hulls.

ble to handle green or damp bolls asftheycannotbe'broken apart, but with my method that is really an advantage as it is possible and, desirable to remove the cotton without The ratchet feed Wheel 5 is provided with regularly spaced pins on one side and an by Letters Patent, is

equal number l9 alternately spaced upon the other side, all near its circumterenc'e,

the former opening the breast l2, through the medium of an inclined latch 11', which breast, due to its manner of hinging closes by gravity. The pins 19, through the bar opensthe breast 17 and itis closed by't-he weight 23; either of saidbreastsalways being closedwhen the other is opened. There are other details that could be mentioned but as they pertain mostly to ordinary cotton ginning machinery it is not deemed necessary.

\Vhat I esteem as new and desire to secure In a boll-cotton gin, a pair of saw cylin ders arranged one above theother and pro vided With the usual breasts for separating the seed cotton from the hu1ls,1means for automatically feedingthe boll c'ott-onoat regular intervals and in predetermined amounts from the upper'to the lower cylinder said feeding means com 'arising' a rotatable ratchet wheel having alternately spaced pins on either face near its circumference, the series of pins on one side engaging 'a latch. that opens the upper breast, and the pins on the opposite side actuating a bar that opens the lower breastfor the exit of the empty hulls,

as herein set forth In testimony whereof in presence oftwo witnesses.

' JAMES F. HOPPER.

Witnesses i I GoLnIn HILYER, Tnos. P. HOPPER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of-Iatents.

' Washington; D. f

I aflix my signature 

